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Mrs Johnson described the Wendy house, which is used by an unnamed six-year-old child, as being ‘within a garden wall under a tree which cannot be seen from anywhere’ at their home in Baydon, near Marlborough, Wiltshire.

She is furious that she has been ‘forced’ to put in a retrospective application, which if refused will mean the Wendy House will almost certainly have to be pulled down.

Mrs Johnson claimed having to get planning consent for a Wendy House for a six-year-old child ‘is unnecessary and is far beyond what the planning process is for’.

And she said the cost of the planning application ‘far exceeds the cost of the Wendy house’.

‘What has happened here is extraordinarily unusual,’ she said.

‘We were completely flabbergasted. It is beyond my comprehension - I do not understand why we need planning permission.

‘[The
planning officer] was here to look at a planning application we had put
in for an extension. He chose to walk around the property and look
wherever he wanted to look without permission. He looked everywhere.’

Plans: The Wendy house only came to light when the couple asked for a planning officer to assess a proposed extension to their house, pictured here

She continued: ‘For whatever reason he then went back and reported there was a child’s Wendy house that needed planning permission. We then received a notice we had to apply for retrospective planning and go through a process

‘I do not think it is necessary to have planning permission for a child of six to have a very old Wendy house which is not on concrete, not attached to the ground but just sits there within a walled garden under a tree which cannot be seen from anywhere and is not big enough for adults.’

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council yesterday said: ‘A planning officer went to the property to discuss a current planning application.

‘As part of his site inspection he discovered several other structures which required planning permission. He requested the owners put in retrospective planning applications.

‘Because this structure is above the permitted size for an area of outstanding natural beauty, it needs planning permission.’

The spokesman added that ‘the husband gave permission for him to carry out his inspection’.

Earlier this year council officials ordered another couple to apply for planning permission for another little girl’s slightly smaller Wendy house.

The 6ft by 8ft house was a birthday present for three-year-old Abigail Gent, from Shropshire.

None of the neighbours raised any objection to the 7ft tall structure, but because of officials' 'crazy' red tape it still needed planning permission.

Wrexham County Borough Council said permission was required to ensure no 'additional development' was carried out.

A spokesman for the council said: 'The reason planning permission was required was due to previous planning conditions, when approval was granted for a barn conversion and a change of use of land for grazing of recreational horses.’

She added: 'Permission for this structure was granted on March 8, 2011.'